Description

Anyone who has updated a Lync or Skype for Business environment with a recent Cumulative Update knows that there are often manual steps to perform after the LyncServerUpdateInstaller.exe/SkypeServerUpdateInstaller.exe program is finished. These are often database update functions. And often, multiple functions to update the various different databases, including the CMS, monitoring, archiving, Persistent Chat, etc. I’ve run across quite a few environments where the LyncServerUpdateInstaller.exe/SkypeServerUpdateInstaller.exe is run, and nothing else is done, and the client can’t figure out why things aren’t running as they expect. Fortunately, the Test-CsDatabase cmdlet will show you the current version of the database and the expected version. But then you have to manually compare each one to determine if an update is required. Of course, there are databases on the local Front End server(s), and the SQL backend server(s). Also, it’s important to review the status of SQL mirroring, and ensuring that databases are active on the principal node and not the mirror node. And that’s just part of the patching process.

Dave Howe, of the Lync product group, and I collaborated on a script that helps streamline part of this process. Dave did a lot of the initial grunt work, so he deserves a lot of the credit. I cleaned things up and optimized per some best practices.

Among the tasks that this script performs:

Determines whether database updates are required. It performs the following checks:

1. Detects whether the pool version is Lync Server 2013 or later, including Skype for Business
2. Detects whether database mirroring is enabled
3. Detects whether the primary and mirror SQL servers are online
4. Detects whether the mirror server is principal for any databases
5. Detects whether the local machine is a FE of the given pool
6. Detects whether the CMS is on Lync Server 2013 or later, including Skype for Business

And returns the following info:

1. Returns list of local databases, their versions, and whether a database update is required (if the local server is a member of the pool)
2. Returns list of backend databases, their versions, and whether a database update is required
3. Returns list of CMS databases, their versions, and whether a database update is required

An example output is shown below. Note that the local XDS database requires an update

Syntax

Get-CsDatabaseUpdateStatus.ps1 [[-PoolFqdn] ] [-WhatIf] [-Confirm] []

Installation

Execution Policy: Third-party PowerShell scripts may require that the PowerShell Execution Policy be set to either AllSigned, RemoteSigned, or Unrestricted. The default is Restricted, which prevents scripts – even code signed scripts – from running. For more information about setting your Execution Policy, see Using the Set-ExecutionPolicy Cmdlet.

Donations

I’ve never been one to really solicit donations for my work. My offerings are created because *I* need to solve a problem, and once I do, it makes sense to offer the results of my work to the public. I mean, let’s face it: I can’t be the only one with that particular issue, right? Quite often, to my surprise, I’m asked why I don’t have a “donate” button so people can donate a few bucks. I’ve never really put much thought into it. But those inquiries are coming more often now, so I’m yielding to them. If you’d like to donate, you can send a few bucks via PayPal at https://www.paypal.me/PatRichard. Money collected from that will go to the costs of my website (hosting and domain names), as well as to my home lab.

Assumptions

None

Download

v1.2 – 02-24-2018 – Get-CsDatabaseUpdateStatus.v1.2.zip

v1.1 – 04-30-2014 – Get-CsDatabaseUpdateStatus.v1.1.zip

v1.0 – 04-30-2014 – Get-CsDatabaseUpdateStatus.v1.0.zip

Changelog

See the changelog for information on what’s changed/included in each version.

This is the changelog page for Get-CsDatabaseUpdateStatus.ps1. You will find a complete list of released versions, their dates, and the features and issues addressed in each. Please refer to the script’s main page for more information including download links, installation details, and more.

v1.2 – 02-24-2018

1. Updated Write-Log to v3.4
2. Updated Get-UpdateInfo to v1.5
3. Updated Set-ModuleStatus to v1.6
4. Code cleanup per recommendations from refactoring

v1.1 – 04-30-2014

1. Fixed an issue with mangled parameter blocks. Thanks to Dave for reporting it.

v1.0 – 04-30-2014

1. Initial version

Description

Being someone who’s converted from Exchange to Lync, I have the luxury of cmdlets for managing Lync services. This includes starting, stopping, and querying those services. I’ve heard from a few Exchange guys who have said it would be nice if the Exchange guys had the same ability. Sure, you can manually type a PowerShell query each time, but why not convert that into some functions? I’ve created a module that has three functions in it. Start-ExWindowsService, which will start any Exchange service that is not disabled and not currently running. Stop-ExWindowsService will stop all running Exchange services. Get-ExWindowsService, which will display all Exchange services and their status and startup type. And finally, Set-ExWindowsServiceRecoveryOptions sets all Exchange related services to automatically restart in the event of a service failure.

Syntax

Start-ExWindowsService [[-ComputerName] ] [[-Name] ] [-WhatIf] [-Confirm] []

Stop-ExWindowsService [[-ComputerName] ] [[-Name] ] [-Force] [-WhatIf] [-Confirm] []

Get-ExWindowsService [[-ComputerName] ] [[-Name] ] [-WhatIf] [-Confirm ] []

Set-ExWindowsServiceRecoveryOptions [[-ComputerName] ] [-WhatIf] [-Confirm]

Installation

Open PowerShell and type $env:PSModulePath. Note that it will generally include two paths. One is to c:\Windows\System32\WindowsPowerShell\v1.0\Modules\. Placing the module in this location will make it available to everyone who uses that computer. The other path is to a subfolder of your My Documents folder. Something like C:\Users\administrator\Documents\WindowsPowerShell\Modules. Placing the module in there will make it available just to you. In either case, unzip the contents of the zip file, including the folder, to the modules folder. One thing to note: if you place the module in your personal modules folder, it will not show in the list when you run Get-Module -ListAvailable. But it will still work fine. Import the module by typing Import-Module ExchangeServices

Download

v1.1 – 01-26-2015 – ExchangeServices.v1.1.zip

v1.0 – 04-01-2014 – ExchangeServices.v1.0.zip

Changelog

See the changelog for information on what’s changed/included in each version.

This is the changelog for ExchangeServices. You will find a complete list of released versions, their dates, and the features and issues addressed in each. Please refer to the script’s main page for more information including download links, installation details, and more.

v1.0 – 04-01-2014

1. Original version

Syntax highlighting

Updated the wordfile a little bit. This one includes all previous functions as well as the following:

1. PowerShell v4 cmdlets (the ones available when you open a new v4 session).
2. Exchange 2013 SP1 cmdlets
3. Lync 2013 cmdlets
4. Active Directory cmdlets

That adds up to 2834 cmdlets/functions that get syntax highlighting on top of the 137 aliases that are also in the file. The file also has variable highlighting, as well as operators and comp operators highlighting.

Formatting changes include the following:

1. code folding for (), so your long param() blocks can now be collapsed/expanded.
2. code folding for region/endregion. This mimics the behavior of ISE.

If you’d like to change the colors and/or fonts used for highlighting, go to View>Themes>Manage Themes, or Layout>Themes>Manage Themes (depending on your version of UltraEdit) as the styling in the wordfile is ignored starting with v20 of UltraEdit.

As with all other wordfiles, they are stored in “%appdata%\IDMComp\UltraEdit\Wordfiles\”, unless you change the path in Advanced>Configuration>Editor Display>Syntax Highlighting or Advanced>Settings>Editor Display>Syntax Highlighting (again, depending on your installed version of UltraEdit).

You can optionally set the “Highlight new file as:” to PowerShell, as I do (also shown above).

As soon as you place this wordfile in that folder, you should see PowerShell as an option under View>View as (Highlighting File Type)

Auto-complete

I’ve also created an auto complete file that contains the same cmdlet/function names as the syntax highlighting file. When enabled, you get tab completion of cmdlet and function names similar to the PowerShell console and ISE. Note, however, that in UltraEdit, you only get auto-complete of the cmdlet/function names, not their parameters.

You can save the file anywhere. Then, go to Advanced>Configuration>Editor>Word Wrap/Tab Settings (or Advanced>Settings>Editor>Word Wrap/Tab Settings) to specify the location within UltraEdit:

Then go to Auto-complete and check the box “Show auto-complete dialog automatically” and also enter a number in the box. 5 works for me.

Now, when typing a cmdlet/function that’s in the auto-complete file, you’ll get suggestions.

Up/down errors navigate through the list, and tab uses the highlighted suggestion.

Download

UltraEditSyntaxHighlighingAuto-CompleteFiles.zip

Description

Just something I worked up based on a suggestion by someone. This will change the power plan of the machine it’s run on. This can be critical if you want to ensure that the machine doesn’t go to sleep while an extended process is running. Simply run the function with the desired power plan and the change is immediate. For example:

Set-PowerPlan "High Performance"

The three power plans you can choose from are “high performance”, “balanced”, and Power Saver. That’s all there is to it.

function Set-PowerPlan {
	[CmdletBinding(SupportsShouldProcess = $True)]
	param (
		[ValidateSet("High performance", "Balanced", "Power saver")]
		[ValidateNotNullOrEmpty()]
		[string] $PreferredPlan = "High Performance"
	)
	 
	Write-Verbose "Setting power plan to `"$PreferredPlan`""
	$guid = (Get-WmiObject -Class Win32_PowerPlan -Namespace root\cimv2\power -Filter "ElementName='$PreferredPlan'").InstanceID.ToString()
	$regex = [regex]"{(.*?)}$"
	$plan = $regex.Match($guid).groups[1].value 
	
	powercfg -S $plan
	$Output = "Power plan set to "
	$Output += "`"" + ((Get-WmiObject -Class Win32_PowerPlan -Namespace root\cimv2\power -Filter "IsActive='$True'").ElementName) + "`""
	Write-Verbose $Output
}

Donations

I’ve never been one to really solicit donations for my work. My offerings are created because *I* need to solve a problem, and once I do, it makes sense to offer the results of my work to the public. I mean, let’s face it: I can’t be the only one with that particular issue, right? Quite often, to my surprise, I’m asked why I don’t have a “donate” button so people can donate a few bucks. I’ve never really put much thought into it. But those inquiries are coming more often now, so I’m yielding to them. If you’d like to donate, you can send a few bucks via PayPal at https://www.paypal.me/PatRichard. Money collected from that will go to the costs of my website (hosting and domain names), as well as to my home lab.

Description

This function probably doesn’t have a lot of users to most people. But in Lync, adding the Simple URL for the Lync Server Control Panel to the Local Intranet zone resolves the issue of having to enter credentials each time. Of course, I like to automate the configuration of things, so I whipped up this little function, and it will be included in some of my build scripts. The script basically creates the required registry entries under HKCU:\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet Settings\ZoneMap\Domains. Immediately after running the function, we can see the new entry in Internet Explorer

Internet Explorer Trusted Intranet Zone

Syntax

New-TrustedIESite [[-url] ] [[-zone] ] []

Zones are as follows:

1 Local Intranet
2 Trusted Sites
3 Internet
4 Restricted Sites

example:

New-TrustedIESite -url https://lyncadmin.contoso.com -zone 1

Will add https://www.lyncadmin.contoso.com to the Local Intranet zone

Download

v1.0 – 02-08-2014 – New-TrustedIESite.v1.0.zip

Description

One of the really cool features of Lync Server 2013 is the Lync Room System. LRS is comprised of a single or dual screen system, video camera, and control unit. This system provides for a rich conferencing experience by providing HD video, touch screens with white-boarding, audio & video inputs, and more. For more information on Lync Room system, see the Product Group’s blog post. To see the systems optimized for Lync, see the catalog.

Deploying a Lync Room System involves several steps, and is outlined (albeit poorly) in the LRS Deployment Guide. I say poorly because from a PowerShell perspective, the 10 steps outlined can be combined down to about 6. Some are Exchange related, some are Active Directory related, and some are Lync related.

What I’ve done is to automate & streamline the process, add a ton of error checking, optimization, and validation. Instead of picking an Exchange server, the script will automatically find and connect to Exchange. It then performs the following tasks:

1. Create an Exchange mailbox configured as a room resource. Additionally, the description is defined, and the company name on the account is configured (see https://www.ucunleashed.com/2266 for why this is important). The room account is enabled. You’re prompted for a password for the account, and that password must conform to the organizations’ password policy for complexity. If the mailbox already exists, which would be common in most scenarios, the script will handle it gracefully, ensuring it’s configured properly.
2. The mailtip for the account is defined. It merely reminds users to make meeting requests a Lync meeting.
3. Set calendar processing to AutoAccept so that when the room account is added to meetings, it will automatically accept the request.
4. The AD account is enabled
5. The Lync Meeting room is created, and uses the email address for the SIP address. This is important to avoid Exchange Web Services (EWS) issues.
6. If a LineURI is defined, the meeting room is enterprise voice enabled. LineURI should be specified in E.164 format.

Any other configuration, such as conferencing policies, etc., can be set after the script runs. I’ve used this script to deploy a 70″ dual display SMART Room System.

See the assumptions section below for more info.

Syntax

New-CsLyncRoomSystem.ps1 [[-Alias] ] [[-Name] ] [[-UPN] ] [[-SamAccountName] ] [[-RegistrarPool] ] [[-LineURI] ] [[-CompanyName] ] [[-ResponseText] ] [[-ResourceCapacity] ] [-DeleteSubject ] [[-EnableResponseDetails] ] [-WhatIf ] [-Confirm ] []

example

New-CsLyncRoomSystem.ps1 -Alias nycconfroom -Name "New York City Conference Room" -Upn "nycconfroom@contoso.com" -RegistrarPool "frontendpool.contoso.com"

The SamAccountName only needs to specified if it needs to be different than the alias.

Installation

Execution Policy: Third-party PowerShell scripts may require that the PowerShell Execution Policy be set to either AllSigned, RemoteSigned, or Unrestricted. The default is Restricted, which prevents scripts – even code signed scripts – from running. For more information about setting your Execution Policy, see Using the Set-ExecutionPolicy Cmdlet.

Donations

I’ve never been one to really solicit donations for my work. My offerings are created because *I* need to solve a problem, and once I do, it makes sense to offer the results of my work to the public. I mean, let’s face it: I can’t be the only one with that particular issue, right? Quite often, to my surprise, I’m asked why I don’t have a “donate” button so people can donate a few bucks. I’ve never really put much thought into it. But those inquiries are coming more often now, so I’m yielding to them. If you’d like to donate, you can send a few bucks via PayPal at https://www.paypal.me/PatRichard. Money collected from that will go to the costs of my website (hosting and domain names), as well as to my home lab.

Assumptions

• The SIP address is set to match the SMTP address. This is to avoid issues where the two don’t match and Exchange Web Services (EWS) calls fail.
• Exchange 2010 or 2013 exists in the environment
• The user running the script has the appropriate rights in Exchange (Recipient Management or higher) and Lync (RTCUniversalUserAdmin or higher)
• The machine that the script runs on has both the Lync and Active Directory modules installed.

Download

v1.2 – 06-10-2014 – New-CsLyncRoomSystem.v1.2.zip

v1.1 – 02-08-2014 – New-CsLyncRoomSystem.v1.1.zip

v1.0 – 01-28-2014 – New-CsLyncRoomSystem.v1.0.zip

Changelog

See the changelog for information on what’s changed/included in each version.

This is the changelog for New-CsLyncRoomSystem.ps1. You will find a complete list of released versions, their dates, and the features and issues addressed in each. Please refer to the script’s main page for more information including download links, installation details, and more.

v1.2 – 06-10-2014

1. Added -AdditionalResponse option for Set-CalendarProcessing
2. Added -DomainController switch to every command that supports it to ensure that we don’t start getting errors due to AD replication being laggy.
3. A warning is now shown if the user services policy that is applied to the LRS has UCS enabled
4. ResourceCapacity option added. If defined, will set the mailbox capacity accordingly

v1.1 – 02-08-2014

1. comment help optimized per suggestions at http://www.lazywinadmin.com/2014/01/powershell-tip-adding-help-in-param.html
2. validation for registrar name
3. cleaned up param block
4. validate that FE pool is 2013, exit if not
5. new version of Set-ModuleStatus

v1.0 – 01-28-2014

1. Original version

Many people have noticed that after installing the Lync Server 2013 Cumulative Update from October, 2013, that the font in the Lync Server Control Panel changed to Times New Roman from the original Segoe UI font.

Lots of people commented online that they were not fans of the change (myself included), and wanted it changed back. The issue was raised with Microsoft who verified that there was no change in the font requested when displaying the Control Panel. This was confirmed by looking through the logs. The problem was an Internet Explorer compatibility issue. Servers that have IE 8 don’t exhibit the problem, but those with IE 9 or later, do. Instead of looking at the font defined by MS Shell Dlg registry value (HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\FontSubstitues\MS Shell Dlg), the Control Panel was using the font configured in IE. If you look in Internet Options>Fonts, you see that the Webpage font is set to Times New Roman.

We can get the original Segoe UI font back by simply changing the webpage font option to Segoe UI, closing the Control Panel, and opening it back up. We can also make the change using PowerShell by changing the value of the registry key that gets set when you use the above method. To do so, open PowerShell, and enter the following:

Set-ItemProperty -path "HKCU:\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\International\Scripts\3" -Name IEPropFontName -Value "Segoe UI"

And after restarting the Control Panel, we see it’s back to the way it should be.

You can set the value to any font, really, including Comic Sans MS, as requested by my buddy Ken “The Hoff” Lasko.

Something to keep in mind is that changing that value does have the potential for changing the way other web pages look as well, as this is more of a work-around than a fix. But I’ve not run into that, yet. I’ll post more info as I get it.